Open for Business: Seizing Trade and Investment Opportunities in ASEAN

Business Dialogue Forum

Jakarta - November 23, 2016

in collaboration with

Jakarta – On Wednesday, 23 November 2016, The Habibie Center, in partnership with the Indonesian Services Dialogue Council (ISD) and the Indonesian Youth Entrepreneur Association (HIPMI), organized a Business Dialogue Forum, titled “Open for Business: Seizing Trade and Investment Opportunities in ASEAN”, at the Fairmont Hotel, Jakarta. This Forum features opening remarks from Dr. –Ing. Ilham Akbar Habibie, MBA (Chairman of the Institute For Democracy through Science and Technology, The Habibie Center and Vice Chairman of IT, Broadcasting, Research and Technology, Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN)), a keynote speech from Mr. Tim Condon (ING Asia Chief Economist), and a business talk-show featuring Mr. Anangga W. Roosdiono (Chairman of Indonesia ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC)), Mr. Glenn Pardede (Managing Director, PT. East West Seed Indonesia), Dr. Lili Yan Ing (Senior Advisor on Trade and Investment, President’s Office of the Republic of Indonesia), Dr. Donna Gultom (Director of ASEAN Cooperation, Ministry of Trade, Republic of Indonesia), Mr. Noke Kiroyan (Board of Founders, ISD), Mr. Bagas Adhadhirga (Head of Foreign Affairs and Tourism, HIPMI), that was moderated by Ms. Florence Armein (Head of Jakarta Globe News Channel).

Introduction:

Introduction - Discussion Report Business Dialogue Forum1

November 201623 Wednesday,

The objectives of this Business Dialogue Forum were to (a) familiarise economic actors within and beyond ASEAN, especially those from Indonesia and the Netherlands, about business opportunities and constraints deriving from the full implementation of the AEC; (b) provide a networking platform for businesses from ASEAN and the Netherlands; and (c) contribute to the potential expansion of trade and investment both within and beyond ASEAN.

This discussion report summarized the key points of each speaker as well as the question and answer session that followed.

Opening Remarks

Dr. -Ing. Ilham Akbar Habibie, MBAChairman of the Institute for Democracy through Science and Technology, The Habibie Center and Vice Chairman of IT, Broadcasting, Research and Technology, Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN)

In his speech, Dr. –Ing. Ilham Akbar Habibie focused on ASEAN’s economic potentials. According to him, against the trend of economic closing up at the global level, ASEAN economies remain open. This is especially apparent through the ongoing economic integration project of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). The AEC indicates that the countries in the region are all open for business with the rest of the world.

Dr. Habibie also explained how the ASEAN countries are competitive. Collectively, the ASEAN market is the third biggest market after the United States (US) and Europe. The economies of ASEAN’s member states remain resilience and are not affected by the global financial crisis. ASEAN has the potential to be more competitive than China due to its demographic dividend, as it has more productive adults in Asia. The region’s abundant population is the world’s third largest labour force. The population not only presents an investment opportunity, but also provides market opportunity for economic consumption.

ASEAN countries are also devoted to creating a friendly environment for businesses and smart investment. The governments in the region are all committed to pursuing projects to modernise their economies though industrialization, infrastructure building, and investments in human capital as well as research and development.

ASEAN’s economic potentials will not only benefit the region, but also the global economy. With its strategic location and effective leadership in maritime industries, such as fisheries, the region has a huge maritime potential for the world. Investment in the agricultural sector can also develop the region to become the food basket for itself and the world. In this regard, the European Union (EU) is already one of the biggest investors in the region, and within the regional organisation, the Netherlands is one of the biggest investors. Nevertheless there are still many areas of investment that can be explored by the EU and the Netherlands.

He further affirmed his confidence in the economic partnership between ASEAN and the EU. In the absence of a region-to-region free trade agreement (FTA), the ASEAN-EU FTA is especially needed to support the economic partnership. He also stressed that the forum was The Habibie Center’s effort in improving greater awareness about ASEAN among the EU’s business network. The forum also served as a platform for business networking as well as a channel for business in ASEAN and EU to explore the opportunities in the AEC. In addition, the forum helped facilitate to expand investment and trade relations in ASEAN.

Opening Remarks - Discussion Report Business Dialogue Forum3

Mr. Tim Condon ING Chief Economist Asia

Keynote Speech

Keynote Speech - Discussion Report Business Dialogue Forum5

Tim Condon presented some insights on Indonesia’s economic potentials in the global and regional context. He started his keynote speech with an overview of global economic trends. He highlighted that there were three periods of world trade and industrial growth between 1995-2016. He noted that since 2012, world trade and industrial production has been growing together steadily. According to him, the growth in the post-World War II period was supported by the development of the US as an economic powerhouse and the need of Asian and European countries to rebuild their economies, which also opened up opportunities for employment. The trend of world trade growth was further sustained by the US de-industrialization that has shifted the industrial production activities to Asia through outsourcing. This shift has led to the convergence of world trade. Mr. Condon projected that trade and industrialisation will continue to grow together and will not decline in the near future.

Mr. Condon explained that the sharp decline in the world’s economic growth is associated with the end of globalization. In the context of Asia, in which the majority of the countries have been pursuing an export-led growth strategy, the trend of economic closing up in the developed countries has made domestic spending an important alternative to sustain growth in order to escape the middle-income trap. In this regards, ASEAN countries stand up very well. He then went on to compare the countries in ASEAN, which are grouped into middle-income group and low-income group based on their GDP per capita. In the middle-income group there are Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, and the Philippines, while in the low-income group there are Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam. According to Mr. Condon, while it is easier to do business in the middle-income group’s countries, as they are more competitive and have a relatively good quality of infrastructure and per capita income, the countries in the low-income group still need to catch up.

One of the potentials that Mr. Condon highlighted is the demographic condition of ASEAN countries. He explained that ASEAN countries’ big and relatively younger population could benefit their countries, especially because the population in other countries, such as China and Japan, are aging. Thus it is the challenge of ASEAN governments to turn this demographic potential into an economic boost.

On Indonesia’ exports, Mr. Condon was quite skeptical that Indonesia can develop its export to support economic growth. Putting it in the regional context, it is especially hard for Indonesia to develop its export because ASEAN is still not the base for trade. The economic structures of the ASEAN countries resemble each other closely, therefore they do not trade closely with each other. One of the alternatives for strong growth strategy is investment. Growth in Indonesia, like China, has been driven by investment. There is a strong correlation between fluctuation in investment and economic growth. To sustain investment, Indonesia needs macroeconomic stability with steady inflation. Indonesia also needs to promote deregulation packages by opening up sectors that were closed before. With a wide variety of commodity manufacturing potentials in Indonesia, the country needs greater commitment to control inflation to stimulate investment.

Talk show

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Ms. Florence ArmeinAs the moderator for Talk show session, Ms. Florence Armein opened the session by asking the panelists about the general economic opportunities for ASEAN countries going forward.

Mr. Anangga W. Roosdiono Mr. Anangga W. Roosdiono stated that he was optimistic towards the ASEAN Economic Community’s (AEC) potentials to go forward. According to him, the main challenge for ASEAN countries is to improve their internal competitiveness. Mr. Roosdiono also highlighted the leadership problem in ASEAN. In his view, ASEAN, which was established almost 50 years ago, remains an elite project.It was only in 2016 when the AEC started that people began to take notice of the Association’s integration project. This is the momentum for the people and business sector to take the lead in AEC.

Ms. Florence Armein

Ms. Armein asked the panelists why ASEAN matters and why people need to invest in ASEAN.

Dr. Donna GultomDr. Donna Gultom emphasised that the AEC integration is a long process and as ASEAN consists of developed and developing countries, the Association needs to use a gradual approach towards regional integration. ASEAN is currently trying to harmonise all agreements in the AEC in order to move towards a comprehensive integration, not only in the economic pillar, but also those in other pillars. She further explained that the global stagnation since 2010 has generated expectation for the AEC to move forward and support growth. ASEAN has engaged the business community since the beginning and, going forward, it will also engage with other communities. She concluded her explanation by saying that the AEC has just completed the first phase, and it is currently progressing to the next step of integration process as outlined in the AEC blueprint.

Dr. Lili Yan Ing In answering the question why ASEAN and why invest now, Dr. Lily Yan Ing emphasised that the region has a big economic potential. Economic growth in Asia outperformed the world’s growth, and ASEAN’s average growth was high at around 5%. This high and sustained economic growth was sustained by ASEAN’s strategy in actively exploiting the global value chain. Dr. Lili Yan Ing also highlighted that ASEAN was more forward thinking with two bold reforms, which were to make the ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA) a regional production base and to advance the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) and the ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement (ACIA) to promote open trade and investment. She explained that the documents not only outlines the sectors to be open for trade and investment as well as the schedule and target for tariffs elimination clearly, but also highlights the ASEAN countries’ commitment to treat all investors fairly as ASEAN’s own investors.

Mr. Bagas AdhadhirgaMr. Bagas Adhadhirga said that as a young entrepreneur, he looks at the AEC in a good way and is optimistic about it. According to him, the main problems for businesses are interest rate volatility, the lack of infrastructure and the obstacle related to the ease of doing business. He explained that President Joko Widodo’s policy has helped the business community a lot, especially the small and

Dr. Donna GoeltomDirector of ASEAN Cooperation,

Ministry of Trade, Republic of Indonesia

Talk show - Discussion Report Business Dialogue Forum 8

medium enterprises (SMEs).

Mr. Adhadhirga was optimistic that the economy will grow. The potentials in Indonesia could be brought out when connectivity with rural remote areas is built. Entrepreneurs play an important role in extending Indonesia’s market potentials to the AEC. This is why, according to him, infrastructure must be built, the stability of politics must be maintained, and interest rate must be low.

Ms. Florence ArmeinMs. Armein further extended the discussion by asking the panel how excited is the business and industry in Indonesia for AEC?

Mr. Glenn Pardede Mr. Glenn Pardede stated that agricultural business is one of the most attractive business sectors compared to other businesses. There is actually a need to develop the agricultural business sector due to the growing population in the world and in the region. ASEAN has the potential to build agricultural industry because the region is endowed with fertile soil. However, the region is still one of the biggest importers of fruits and vegetables and the business of agriculture is slowing down. Mr. Pardede was optimistic that ASEAN countries have the right potentials to supply the demand of agricultural needs due to the growing population.

Mr. Noke Kiroyan Mr. Noke Kiroyan highlighted the importance for business associations to move forward with ASEAN and the AEC integration project. To do so, it is important for business associations to understand what to do and in which sectors they can cooperate and contribute in the region. The current problem in the region is that intra-trade among ASEAN countries remains low. According to him, governments need to do more to raise the awareness of the AEC project to the business associations so they can cooperate well.

Mr. Anangga W. Roosdiono In addressing the challenges of the AEC, ABAC could play an important role as a bridge between the business sector and the governments of ASEAN member-states. ABAC has established working groups to deal with various issues, such as women and young entrepreneurs, as well as the e-commerce sector in order to integrate all the actors into one society or community. Furthermore, ABAC is also trying to bridge the business community with the ASEAN governments. To start with, it should focus on four sectors, which are agri-food, housing, logistics, and retails.

Dr. Lili Yan Ing The main challenge for the AEC is the slow progress of intra-ASEAN trade, which only

Glenn PardedeManaging Director, PT. East West

Seed Indonesia

Dr. Lili Yan IngSenior Advisor on Trade and Investment,

President’s Office of the Republic of Indonesia

Talk show - Discussion Report Business Dialogue Forum9

increased from 22% in the early 2000s to 24% more recently. According to Dr. Ing, there are two root causes for this. The first is the problem of rules of origins, in which preferential tariffs are relatively higher in food and textile products. The second problem is the non-tariff measures (NTMs). While tariffs actually declined from 9% to 4%, the number of non-tariff measures tripled. These non-tariff measures include technical barriers to trade, product standards, etc. She argued that it will be easier to see the world with zero tariffs, but it will be harder to eliminate NTMs since it is hard to compromise the safety, health and environment standards. The key issue in addressing the NTMs is transparency. ASEAN needs to increase transparency and simplify the rules of origin. She further explained that it is also the matter of national discipline. Stakeholders need to specify their aims in pushing for NTMs and not to use it as a barrier for trade.

Dr. Donna GultomAccording to Dr. Gultom, the efforts to level the playing field and harmonise regulations between ASEAN countries is still lacking. There is also the problem of awareness because the countries still prioritise their internal markets. She stated that for the AEC to progress, it is time to look at each others’ market.

In addressing the concern over agricultural imports, she explained that Indonesia itself is the biggest market in the region, and that is one of the reasons why import in Indonesia has been large.

She also said that ASEAN governments need to be partners with the business sector. ASEAN already has a blueprint that sets out the process of economic integration, which is a good thing. However the challenge is the existing development gap within the region. This is evident by the grouping of more developed ASEAN-6 and the least developed CLMV countries. There has not been enough efforts in reducing the development gap. However, the fact that recently Vietnam could catch up with the ASEAN-6 shows that member states can actually move forward. The solution at narrowing the development gap would be for ASEAN to have special programs for SMEs and aid for less-developed countries. Dr. Gultom supported Dr. Ing’s assertion that ASEAN countries need to be disciplined and increase their transparency.

Mr. Glenn Pardede Mr. Pardede highlighted that investment in agri-business from foreign investors is still lower when compared to investment from domestic investors. This was seen as bad because there is a gap between investment and food demand in Indonesia. The problem is that the population is getting older and young people do not like to be involved in the agriculture business. Though this presents a problem for the region, it can serve as a big opportunity to expand the region’s agriculture business. The government needs to increase the awareness in agri-business by consistently informing people that agri-business is attractive

Anangga W. RoosdionoChairman of Indonesia ASEAN Business,

Advisory Council

Noke KiroyanBoard of Founders, Indonesia Services

Dialogue Council (ISD)

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In the ASEAN context, he mentioned that although ASEAN is already integrated, the laws and regulations are not yet harmonised among countries.

Mr. Noke Kiroyan Mr. Kiroyan argued that to we need to modernise the way we do business. We also need to do market research to determine which products will be accepted by the market. Afterwards, businesses need to pursue effective promotion campaign of their products. Promotion is important as a marketing strategy to develop businesses. Mr. Kiroyan brought out the example of New Zealand’s marketing strategy to make the Kiwi fruit as their commodity and part of their identity even though the fruit is actually a native production of China. Mr. Kiroyan emphasised that the problem with agriculture business is that we are not doing marketing at all.

Mr. Bagas AdhadhirgaIn answering Ms. Armein’s question on how to empower young entrepreneurs in Indonesia, Mr. Adhadhirga first explained the reasons why people become entrepreneurs. According to him, there are two reasons why people become entrepreneurs. The first is by accident, due to job difficulties, and the second is by design because they are directed by their parents to continue the family business, for example. In empowering young

entrepreneurs, Mr. Adhadhirga explained that HIPMI helps create entrepreneurs by design through various entrepreneurship programs in universities. The programs were said to increase students’ understanding about entrepreneurship and to change their mindset because they usually only aspire to become an employee or a bureaucrat. Other than that, HIPMI also gives out scholarships for entrepreneurs to start their businesses.

Echoing Mr. Pardede, Mr. Adhadhirga agreed that the next business challenge would be in the agriculture or food sectors. This is related to food security problem, as the world grows more populous.

In responding Ms. Armein’s question on his recommendation to solve this problem, Mr. Adhadhirga answered that we need vocational education and training on product treatment to meet the international standard and sell our products to Europe.

Mr. Anangga W. Roosdiono Mr. Roosdiono explained that one of the problems with the AEC integration project is that Indonesia and other ASEAN countries have the same problem and competition issue. The integration in ASEAN is problematic because there is no reciprocity of economic benefits among ASEAN countries and Indonesia’s market is already big on its own and there seems to be no significant benefit from other ASEAN countries. Furthermore, most investors prefer to invest in Indonesia because the market is bigger.

To address this problem, ASEAN countries need to try to cooperate together, for example by establishing ASEAN business chambers with the EU, US and China. The chambers can be used as a platform for discussion to talk about what we can do in ASEAN and how integration can be developed.

Mr. Roosdiono remains optimistic with ASEAN’s potentials as he believes that there are a lot of opportunities in ASEAN. He also supported Mr. Adhadhirga’s statement that we need to focus on SMEs and empower young entrepreneurs so the integration can move faster.

Bagas AdhadhirgaHead of Foreign Affairs and Tourism, The Indonesian

Young Entrepreneurs Association (HIPMI)

Florence Armein Head, Jakarta Globe News Channel

Question and Answer

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Comment No. 1: (1) What are ASEAN and Indonesia’s major obstacles in attaining the 2025 Blueprint targets? (2) The idea of food security and sovereignty seem to be very important in ASEAN. To what extent food trade in ASEAN can help promote food security in the region? (3) Indonesia’s Vice President, Jusuf Kalla, recently made comment about the potential of creating an ASEAN and Pacific Trade Alliance. Is there something that the panelist can be share about this? How will this impact ASEAN’s own internal integration, as well as its economic integration process with the rest of East Asia, such as in the context of the RCEP?

Dr. Donna GultomDr. Gultom answered that the major difficulty for ASEAN and Indonesia is the development gap. However, she remained optimistic that Indonesia will lead ASEAN integration.

She explained that Indonesia is still struggling with domestic issues, and this is why the country is moving slower in leading ASEAN. She was optimistic that Indonesia will move on and lead in ASEAN, especially because she believed that ASEAN is waiting for Indonesia. Although ASEAN is not really integrating among themselves, the countries are already in the process of negotiating with external partners, such as is the case with the RCEP. This is because many countries are interested to join RCEP.

The ASEAN-Pacific Alliance proposal is currently being studied by the government, while ASEAN is also in discussion with the EU. This shows that ASEAN always welcomes any partner who wants to engage with the region.

Dr. Gultom emphasised that ASEAN is pursuing gradual approach in its integration process,

and, at the moment, member countries are still focusing on their internal development. It is important for the countries to maintain the centrality of ASEAN and they also have to consolidate themselves to move forward.

Dr. Lili Yan Ing Dr. Ing answered that the major challenge for ASEAN is the development gap. The consequence of the huge development gap in ASEAN is that it hinders the smooth mobility of capital and labor. According to her, the solution would be trade facilitation and investment facilitation, such as implementing investment protection.

She agreed with Dr. Gultom that Indonesia could play the role as the base for ASEAN. The

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institution must, while exploring collaboration with external countries, maintain ASEAN centrality.

Mr. Glenn PardedeIn responding the questions, Mr. Pardede focused mainly on the food security problem. Mr. Pardede explained that currently there is a new trend: the growth of the middle class. This sector of the population demand better quality of food and they can actually afford food at higher price. The problem is that there is a gap between demand and supply in food due to the lack of production. The production of agricultural goods is still low. This is caused by the low investment in agricultural businesses. Therefore, the solution would be to increase investment in the agricultural business sector.

Comment no. 2: Focusing on the comparison between ASEAN and the EU, in the latter there is Germany and France that serve as the de facto leaders. The integration process requires the same level of ambition and the same mindset. There should be established institutions and budget transfer mechanisms to the more developing countries. This is not the case with ASEAN, as there is no common mindset among leaders, no real drive in the countries to do the integration project. What does it take to make progress? As Indonesia is pivotal, where does Indonesia stand? Is Indonesia ready to take the leadership?

Mr. Anangga W. Roosdiono In responding to the comment, Mr. Roosdiono said that he was referring to the further stage of integration, with the European Parliament and European Council. ASEAN is still far off from that stage and is currently pursuing the realization of an economic community first before anything else. It is possible for ASEAN to develop political institutions later, but it will take a long time. He emphasised that ASEAN is still in its first step and it is not trying to be like the EU.

Dr. Lili Yan Ing In responding to the comment, Dr. Ing said that for ASEAN, the EU remains an inspiration

for the Association, but it is not necessarily a role model for ASEAN’s integration project. For example, ASEAN will not become a custom union or a monetary union like the EU. There is still a development gap among the ASEAN members. The EU has Germany as the source of capital, so the country can take a leadership position. On the other hand, ASEAN still relies external dialogue partners, such as Japan, Korea and China. Neither Indonesia nor Singapore could take that kind of leadership until they become the source of investment and technology in the region. According to her, as long as ASEAN countries rely on the trading counterparts, they will not be like the EU.

Mr. Glenn PardedeMr. Pardede added to Dr. Ing’s points that ASEAN countries still have their own self-ego. They are still competing with each other, especially in terms of economic activities. He also stated that Indonesia wants to take the leadership, but questioned whether other ASEAN countries would be willing to follow Jakarta’s lead.

Comment no. 3: How will Indonesia justify investment controls to foreign investors? How do we motivate investment while at the same time not encouraging/allowing the majority shareholders system?

Dr. Donna GultomDr. Gultom explained that although Indonesia needs investment to come, the country must be careful in opening up its economy, as there are some sensitive areas. For example the agricultural sector, there are many sections of the population that make their livelihoods from this sector so Indonesia needs to be careful in opening up the sector for foreign investors. In this sense, Widodo’s economic reform package is good to open up some sectors for investment. Indonesia is currently progressing with the openness and doing a step-by-step approach. She emphasised that openness and competitiveness must progress in parallel.

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On the regional leadership question, Dr. Gultom said that Indonesia would not significantly lead before other countries can catch up.

Mr. Glenn PardedeMr. Pardede focused on the agricultural sector in responding to the question. According to him, when compared to companies in the Netherlands, research and development investment on agriculture businesses in Indonesia is very low. Without investment, the country will have to import agricultural products. According to him, Indonesia needs to open up for investment so the country will not have to import. In other words,to support the agriculture industry, Indonesia needs more investment for research and development.

Comment no. 4: how about industrial policy development in ASEAN?

Dr. Lili Yan Ing Dr. Ing explained that there is no industrial policy to pick the winner in ASEAN countries. What ASEAN is trying to do is to learn from the experience of Japan and Korea in implementing an industrial policy. ASEAN countries focus on taking more investment and openness instead of pouring money to pick the winner.

Indonesia has a major infrastructure deficit. The country promotes more openness by opening up 45 business lines to foreign investors. These sectors include retail, tourism, creative economy, medicine, medical equipment, airlines, and development of high voltage electricity sources. In improving the investment climate, Indonesia started with promoting the policies to support people to establish businesses, increase tax income, etc. This shows that Indonesia is really serious to achieve an investment-led growth strategy.

Mr. Noke Kiroyan Mr. Kiroyan agreed that Indonesia needs to open up and increase investment. According to him, an industrial policy is risky. To promote the business, several sectors need to be

supported by public policy and incentives or disincentives. The government needs to promote these policies more.

Ms. Florence ArmeinIn wrapping up the session, Ms. Armein asked each panelist to provide a concluding statement.

Mr. Anangga W. Roosdiono Mr. Roosdiono stated that he remains optimistic for ASEAN’s one community project. ASEAN is one of the biggest regions in the world and its main competitors are India and China. ASEAN can be one community and it will be different with the EU. ASEAN started with a common platform in security and politic, and is now going forward to be one economic community. The problem with ASEAN’s integration is not only the problem of Indonesia’s, but also the problem for all ten ASEAN’s member countries.

Mr. Bagas AdhadhirgaMr. Adhadhirga stated that the policy in infrastructure and investment is already good. According to him, Indonesia and ASEAN need to improve the policy to support entrepreneurship.

Mr. Glenn PardedeMr. Pardede emphasised that we need to be optimistic with ASEAN’s project. According to him, the area where growth is very promising is in the agri-business sector. To support this growth, the government needs to promote policies that will ease investment. Indonesia needs foreign investors because there is still a lot to learn in the industry. We need to develop more technology in agricultural production as the land is getting less. We also need to start working on the people. Vocational training is needed to support people to be entrepreneurs. More importantly, the government needs to promote the understanding that the agri-business is attractive.

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Dr. Donna GultomDr. Gultom concluded by saying that businesses in ASEAN will grow if the basic fundamental infrastructure development is done. To do this, the countries need investment from their dialogue partners. Investment becomes very important for Indonesia because the country is not really an exporting country when compared to Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. To benefit from ASEAN and its potentials, Indonesia needs to be well established in its infrastructure development. We need to expand the business activities to cover areas outside Indonesia.

Mr. Noke Kiroyan Mr. Kiroyan stated that to increase productivity, more investment is needed. The demographic dividend will not benefit the ASEAN countries if productivity and education remains low. This is because the population cannot compete with other high quality countries. He emphasised that the government needs to educate Indonesia’s population.

Dr. Lili Yan Ing Dr. Ing described that ASEAN is still a baby in its integration process. She explained that ASEAN is moving slowly but progressing well in trade and investment facilitation. It will be more comfortable for investors if ASEAN is more integrated. More openness in the region needs to be highlighted to encourage investors, businesses and the media associations to work together and improve research and development. We need to invest more in research and development as well as to increase investment in developing labours’ skills.

Ms. Florence ArmeinLastly, Ms. Armein concluded the session by emphasising that ASEAN is unique in itself and has a very good economic potentials. To move forward, it is important for the countries in the region to fix its internal conditions before moving forward with the region’s integration project.

PROJECT SUPERVISOR: Rahimah Abdulrahim (Executive Director) & Hadi Kuntjara (Deputy Director for Operations) | HEAD OF ASEAN STUDIES PROGRAM: A. Ibrahim Almuttaqi | RESEARCHERS: Fina Astriana, Muhamad Arif, Askabea Fadhilla, Agustha Lumban Tobing, Hana Hanifah, and Vierna T. Wensatama | FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION: Mila Oktaviani | LAYOUT & DESIGN: Rahma Simamora

ABOUT ASEAN STUDIES PROGRAM

The ASEAN Studies Program was established on February 24, 2010, to become a center of excellence on ASEAN related issues, which can assist in the development of the ASEAN Community by 2015. The Habibie Center through its ASEAN Studies Program, alongside other institutions working towards the same goal, hopes to contribute to the realization of a more people-oriented ASEAN that puts a high value on democracy and human rights.The objective of the ASEAN Studies Program is not merely only to conduct research and discussion within academic and government circles, but also to strengthen public awareness by forming a strong network of civil society in the region that will be able to help spread the ASEAN message. With the establishment of ASEAN Studies Program, The Habibie Center aims to play its part within our capabilities to the ASEAN regional development.

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